- 2005 Lake Tanganyika earthquake
An
earthquake along theEast Africa n "Great Rift Valley " faultline struck at 12:19:55 (UTC ) (14:19:55 local time at theepicentre ) on5 December ,2005 approximately 10 km (6 miles) below the surface ofLake Tanganyika . Its estimated magnitude was between 6.3 and 6.8.Early reports indicated that the heaviest damage was sustained by the eastern provinces of the
Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), a region already ravaged by extensive war and extreme poverty. The area houses tens of thousands ofrefugee s displaced by conflicts, such as theSecond Congo War and theBurundian Civil War , that have plagued theAfrican Great Lakes for the last decade.Two deaths have been reported. [cite news | publisher = The Herald | url = http://www.theherald.co.uk/news/52023.html | format = article archived | title = Two die as earthquake topples houses ] Dozens of houses collapsed in the DRC city of
Kalemie . [cite news | publisher =BBC News | url = http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/4499938.stm | title = Powerful quake rocks East Africa | date =2005-12-06 ]Michel Bonnardeaux , a UN spokesman, said that most of the casualties were caused by fallingzinc orsteel roofs.Although earthquakes with magnitudes in the 6-7 range are not normally associated with massive damage, in East Africa such seismic events can wreak havoc. The quake was centred roughly below Lake Tanganyika and — in addition to the DRC, where the most widespread damage has been reported — it was felt in
Burundi ,Tanzania ,Rwanda , and as far away as the coastal city ofMombasa inKenya . [cite news | publisher =CNN | url = http://www.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/africa/12/05/quake.africa.ap/index.html | title = East Africa quake buries children |format = link expired ] [cite news | publisher =MSNBC | url = http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10333822/ | title = Magnitude 6.8 quake kills at least two in Congo | date =2005-12-05 ]The tremor was felt in places as far as
Luanda ,Angola , where it was felt for around 20 seconds, enough to send people running in panic in search of a shelter. No damage was reported there.References
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